Recipe
🥤 DRINK
Kittitian Sorrel
The Christmas drink of Saint Kitts and Nevis: a ruby hibiscus (sorrel) infusion steeped with ginger, cloves, and cinnamon, sweetened and chilled.
Kittitian · easy · serves 8
prep 10 min · cook 15 min
~114 cal · 0g protein · 29g carbs · 0g fat · 1g fiber · 28g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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In Saint Kitts and Nevis, as across the Caribbean, sorrel is the drink of Christmas, its deep ruby colour as much a signal of the season as the carols. It is made from the dried sepals of a hibiscus species called sorrel or roselle, whose West African roots came to the islands with the enslaved and took hold in the local Christmas.
The dried sorrel is steeped in hot water with fresh ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and a little citrus peel, then left to develop before it is strained and sweetened and chilled. On Saint Kitts and Nevis, as elsewhere, the adult version is spiked with a little local rum, and many families let it sit for a day or two so the spice deepens.
Tart, spiced, and beautifully red, served cold over ice, sorrel is inseparable from a Kittitian Christmas table. Its bright colour and warming spice make it the season's signature glass.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 8
2 cups dried sorrel (hibiscus) sepals
Hard to find? dried hibiscus (flor de jamaica) - the same flower under another name; it can run more tart, so taste before adding all the sugar
3 in piece fresh ginger, sliced
6 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
from 1 orange orange peel
1 cup, or to taste sugar
10 cups water
to taste white rum (optional)
Instructions
1
Bring the water to a boil with the ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and orange peel.
2
Pour it over the dried sorrel, turn off the heat, and steep for at least 4 hours or overnight.
✎ Chef’s note
A long steep, ideally overnight, is what draws out the deep colour and spice; a rushed one tastes thin and pale.
3
Strain out the sorrel and spices.
4
Sweeten to taste, adding a little rum if you like, then chill well and serve over ice.
Basseterre Christmas tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Basseterre. Basseterre slow-cooks goat water at weekends, a thick goat stew with breadfruit and papaya, seasoned with clove and thickened toward gravy. Saint Kitts and Nevis cooking runs on saltfish, dumplings, and the ubiquitous pepper sauce.
🗺️
Saint Kitts and Nevis. Saint Kitts and Nevis calls stewed saltfish with dumplings and breadfruit its national dish, alongside goat water stew. African and British roots meet over seafood and ground provisions.
🌍
North America. The most consequential technique on this continent is nixtamalisation, cooking maize with lime or wood ash. It loosens the skins, makes the dough that becomes tortillas and tamales, and frees up niacin the body cannot otherwise absorb, which is why maize spread around the world without the technique and took pellagra with it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Saint Kitts and Nevis
Goat WaterA rich, spiced goat stew thickened with breadfruit or flour and scented with clove and rum, the Saturday pot.
Stewed Saltfish with DumplingsSalt cod stewed down with tomato, onion, and pepper, served with boiled dumplings and ground provisions, the national breakfast of St. Kitts.
Coconut Sugar CakeChewy pink-and-white coconut candy set in ginger sugar syrup, a nostalgic Saint Kitts and Nevis sweet.
Browse all Saint Kitts and Nevis recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
Make it a Saint Kitts and Nevis meal
Goat WaterDinner
Coconut Sugar CakeDessert
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Drinks
Frequently asked questions
What is Kittitian Sorrel?
The Christmas drink of Saint Kitts and Nevis: a ruby hibiscus (sorrel) infusion steeped with ginger, cloves, and cinnamon, sweetened and chilled.
Where does Kittitian Sorrel come from?
Kittitian Sorrel is a Kittitian dish from Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Can Kittitian Sorrel be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Kittitian Sorrel recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Kittitian Sorrel safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Kittitian Sorrel take to make?
About 25 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 8.
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